Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday clarified that he neither sought a ban on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming film Padmavati nor did he support those issuing threats to its actors and makers, PTI reported.

“How can I seek or support a ban on the movie when I have not even watched it,” Singh asked, refuting the “unfounded conclusions” that were drawn from his earlier statement. On Monday, Singh had said that nobody has the right to distort history, and those who were hurt by the distortion of history had the right to protest in a democracy. “Cinematic licence does not give anyone the right to twist historical facts,” he had said.

Clarifying his position, Singh said that nobody can be denied the right to disagree with others and protest peacefully in a civilised and democratic system. However, he added, no one has the right to threaten someone only because they have differing views on a matter. “I totally condemn all people who are issuing threats and expect the law to take its course against them,” he said.

Singh was referring to statements made by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief media coordinator for Haryana, Suraj Pal Amu, who had announced a Rs 10-crore reward for anyone who beheads actor Deepika Padukone and director Bhansali. A leader of right-wing outfit Rajput Karni Sena had said that they would punish Padukone by “cutting off her nose”.

The movie, which is based on Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s epic poem Padmavat, was set to be released on December 1 but its co-producers Viacom18 Motion Pictures decided to “voluntarily defer” its release amid widespread protests.

Padmavati, starring Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, has repeatedly faced trouble from Rajput and Brahmin groups, who allege that the movie has distorted “historical facts” and fear that the movie has a romantic scene between Khilji (played by Singh) and Rani Padmini (Padukone) as a dream sequence. Bhansali, however, has denied having such a scene.